Rounding Third
by TG81
Summary: Edward Cullen has been traded to his hometown team, Chicago Cubs. Bella, a sports writer for the Chicago Sun is assigned to cover his elusive private life. Will their past interactions ruin any potential they have to make amends? Rated M, Very OOC.
1. Spring of 2004

Hi everyone!

I have so many people to thank for kicking my ass to get this story going again. First **mamacat**, who was most amazing reviewer of this story. Every quote for each chapter is strictly for you and I promise to mention Yogi Bera as much as I can. Huge thank you's to **stephk0525 **and** IdPattThat **for prereading. Huge props to **Yellowglue **(yes, _that_ yellowglue. One of the biggest sweethearts in the fandom) for prereading and and helping me make this even more angsty. **Browns_TBG **beta'd this extensive prelude. Now my A/N is as long as my actual chapter.

I don't have a posting schedule, but the first ten chapters are done, they just need to be revved up on angst and good old fashioned beta job.

I can't wait to hear your thoughts!

Much thanks to everyone.

Here we go...

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"Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again. That's the way life is, with a new game every day, and that's the way baseball is."-Bob Feller, Pitcher, 1918.

* * *

Edward blankly stared out his window, unable to move. The scene he'd stumbled upon running on repeat through his mind. He'd realized his mistake, but he was clearly too late.

"_I know we've just come back into each other's lives, but that doesn't mean I don't love you and I will do what it takes to make sure you're happy. You're incredibly important to me, Bella."_

"_You're important to me, too. I'm sorry you have to see me like this," she replied with a sniffled. "I love you too, Em. Thank you for everything." There was a moment of silence and Edward peaked through the crack in the door. The sight caught him completely off guard. Emmett McCarty was kissing Bella's hair and rubbing her back, her head resting on his chest. The intimacy of the moment was too much for Edward to handle, so he turned around and drove, his body on autopilot, the entire way home._

His body on autopilot, he turned around and headed home, not feeling the wheel beneath his hands. He sighed. "She's moved on."


	2. Starting Lineup

Hey there! I'm so sorry for getting this up so late. Chapter 2 is already done and will be sent to the beta shortly. Many thanks to **Browns **for her patience regarding my lack of commas. **IdPattThat pre-read **and assured me she likes Baseballward. Have you read her story, Accidental Atonement? No, you should.

A quick note: Just because this has angst in its genre title doesn't mean it's a tearjerker at every turn. It's still the same story I had posted, just with a beta, some great input from friends and hopefully and less misspellings.

* * *

Chapter 1: Starting Lineup

A baseball game is twice as much fun if you're seeing it on the company's time. ~William C. Feather

* * *

**Bella Swan**

"Okay guys, I would like to make a toast. To our girl, Bella! Youngest person to be a featured columnist at the Sun!" Rosalie raised her beer, and the others followed with happy sentiments.

"Thank you, guys, this really means a lot." Bella started to blush and looked down as she shuffled the deck of cards.

"So tell me, Bells, when can I expect those Cubs tickets?" Jake asked.

"Seriously, Jake? Ticketmaster has more pull than I do." Bella sighed.

"Yeah, but you don't charge a fee for breathing," Jake whined, "Besides, you get to go in the locker room; you can take me with you."

"Jake is the only straight guy I know who would willingly go into a locker room full of hot naked guys." Angela laughed. "And Bella is the only girl I know who wouldn't want to go into the same locker room."

"Are you guys going to keep talking about tickets or are we playing cards?" asked Rosalie. The makeshift poker game was at Bella's place this month. Every first Tuesday of the month, for the past two years, the four friends got together to catch up and just relax. Grateful for Rose's snip, Bella dealt out the cards and poker night was back underway.

Lately Bella had been skipping out on poker night because of work. NFL training camp was going to be starting in six weeks and major-league baseball was now in full swing, she was a busy woman. She had just been promoted to featured sports columnist for the Chicago Sun paper; the youngest in their history at the age of twenty-eight. She now held the responsibility of writing her column on all professional sports. She shouldered the added pressures of it being nationally syndicated in the paper and online, doing public appearances, and now she was to attend to all the major sporting events, up close and personal.

After an hour and a half of cards and a multiple accusations of Jake hiding cards with Angela's help, Bella needed a break. Grabbing a bottle of water, and walking out of her kitchen she paused and took in her friends. Rosalie, Jake, Angela, and Bella had been together for a few years, She never imagined that she could be this lucky to have such a tight-knit group when she was in high school. Four years ago when she transferred to Northwestern from University of Washington, she was a loner. It was pure coincidence that she ran into Angela, her best friend from her hometown in Washington State.

"Okay guys, it's getting late and I have an early meeting. I'm kicking everyone out," Bella announced. It wasn't really that late, but she was leading her first staff meeting, doling out assignments to other reporters, those who were furious that they were overlooked for the promotion. Bella was nervous, she knew her position was well deserved, but it still didn't mean she wasn't going to get glares and passive aggressive comments from embittered jackasses.

As they were all leaving, Rose gave her a tight hug and whispered, "You are going to kick ass tomorrow, just wear the suit and you'll be fine. Good luck, call me and we'll grab lunch afterwards, okay?" Bella nodded and gave her thanks.

Locking the door behind her, Bella climbed to bed waiting for the Tylenol PM to kick in and drift her into a dreamless sleep.

/RT\

Bella walked out of the meeting surprised. The meeting had gone a lot better than she had expected, especially not getting as many nasty glares as she had expected. Maybe it was the suit, she thought. As she was walking down to her boss' office, she heard a voice calling her name.

"Bella! Wait up, whatcha doing for lunch?" Eric Yorkie came chasing her down the hall. Bella internally groaned and put on her best fake smile.

"I have a date." It was a technicality, but it wasn't a lie. She and Rose had arranged to meet up in a few hours.

"Oh, okay. Well I'd like to take you out to celebrate your promotion sometime. Maybe dinner instead?" Bella didn't have the heart to turn him down directly, so she assured him sometime after her workload let up.

"Sorry, Eric. You know the rules, no inter-office dating. We should just stick to being friends. I need to go, meeting with the boss man." She turned on her heels and started heading towards her boss' office.

"Yeah, good luck with that," he called after her. Bella knew she wouldn't need luck with this one-on-one. Aro had always been nothing less than wonderful to her.

Bella stood outside her boss' door for what seemed like ten minutes. She shouldn't have been nervous. Aro Eisenberg had always been her mentor for as long as she could remember. They had first met when he guest lectured at the University of Washington and then met again when she was in graduate school. He recognized Bella's talents immediately and took her under his wing when she first started as a newbie with the Sun. He had given her the idea to apply for the feature columnist position when the spot opened. She looked up to him not as a father figure, but rather a well-traveled uncle with great stories and guidance.

"Don't just stand there Bella, come on in," Aro called to her from the other side of his door.

"Sorry. What can I do for you Mr. Eisenberg?" she asked as she slipped through the door, allowing it to close softly behind her.

"Bella, have a seat, and call me Aro, you know that Mr. Eisenberg was my father." He motioned for her to sit down, not looking up from his papers. After a few minutes Aro looked at his protégé and smiled. "As you know, the All-Star break is coming up in a few weeks, and this is huge for us. I need to make sure you have your stuff together and you are ready." Bella nodded, he continued, "I have received a request from ESPN for you to be on the panel for a special MLB episode of JRIB."

Bella gasped, "You want _me_ to be on ESPN? I just got this position, isn't this something James should do?" By now her stomach was doing flip flops. It was one thing for her column to be read; she was always better making her observations on paper than vocalizing them. The four-lettered network was a bit out of her element.

"I have full confidence that you will make the Sun proud, who knows, if this goes well, you could become a regular." Aro had never been more pleased with Bella.

Right now her emotions were all over the place. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry or lose her breakfast on Aro's three hundred dollar shoes. "Can you email me the details of when and where?"

Aro nodded. "I'll have Jane send them over in a bit. We still have other details to discuss, but we'll talk more when the time gets a little closer. We still have a few weeks before anything is finalized."

"Oh, I forgot, I know I'm new in this position, but is it okay for me to bring Emmett? He's new to Chicago," they both grinned at her comment, "And I wouldn't bring him for the actual game, but maybe the Derby? I think he'd get a kick out of it."

"You want to bring Emmett? By all means, it's okay with me. Just expect people to raise some eyebrows. Until you guys are ready to go public, people are going to talk. Are you okay with that?" Aro asked.

Bella shook her head. "I don't think people would figure it out. Besides, it might not be a bad idea for me to get the first exclusive sit-down interview with the first round draft pick for the Bears?" Aro grinned at her.

Bella stood up to leave, turning the handle on the door. She looked over and smiled, "I can't believe this, thank you so much, Aro, for everything. I couldn't have gotten this far without you."

"You did this all on your own, kid. I just showed you the way."

Walking quickly back to her office, she pulled out her Blackberry and dialed the first person she could think of, her dad.

**Edward Cullen**

"You are going do it. It's good publicity and it will show your fans that you are back to your old self."

"No."

"Why not? Give me one good reason why you won't go to the All-Star weekend? And don't give me that crap about your plants."

Edward groaned and ran his fingers through his hair. "Well, someone has to care for my ficus."

"It's plastic."

"It needs to be dusted. Ali, you know I don't like being the in the public eye that much. Need I also remind you, it's in Chicago?" Edward said, cocking an eyebrow.

"You should have thought about that before you became a professional athlete." Alice chuckled. She continued, "it's not like you are actually playing the game. You wave to the public and go to the game the next day. It's a win-win, the camera is on you for maybe twenty minutes total and you can go back to hiding. I won't even make you go to the cocktail party. Need I remind you, this is what you pay me for? So what if it's in Chicago, are you worried about seeing _her_?"

This was an argument that Edward knew he wouldn't win. He knew Alice was right, it would be good for his image and the events didn't take that long.

It's only a couple of days, he might run into her, but chances were pretty slim. Finally caving, Edward sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Fine, but no interviews, no featured stories on my return, injury and for the love of all things holy, nothing on my personal life. Just keep the reporters and media away from me and we'll be good."

"Whatever, Edward, you'll have to talk to reporters eventually." Alice rolled her eyes. Deep down, she didn't blame him one bit. It wasn't his fault that all the gossip magazines and newspaper reporters were all over him for dirt on his private life. It was her job as his agent and publicist to do what he wanted and for the past five years, she had done just that. Since Edward didn't do much publicly other than show up to games and donate money to charities and team events, Alice had it pretty easy. She liked to think of herself as a barrier between the world and Edward.

"Thank you, just send me an email with the information so I know what I'm doing next week. I'm gonna go meet up with Jasper for a few hours of therapy, should I tell him you say 'hi'?" Edward said slowly, waiting for Alice's reaction.

Alice rolled her eyes, and scoffed, "Sure, whatever." She knew what game Edward was playing. She'd had a thing for Edward's physical therapist from the first day she saw him, she didn't want to admit it to herself, let alone Edward.

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So what did you think? Like it? Love it? Hate it? I would love to hear your theories! Reviews = teasers.

Thanks for reading.


	3. Top of the First

***Taps microphone* Anyone out there still interested in this confangled story? I apologize for the delay. Real life has been a monster and it's only about to get worse. Believe it or not, I'm gonna try and have this story wrapped in the next two months before I move across the country. Anyhow, enough of my personal bs. **

Mad props to **Irritable_Grizzzly** for her quick beta job and **Stephk0525** for assuring me that, just despite it's short length, it doesn't suck. Mamacat, any Yogi Berra ever quoted is all for you.

**Not mine, blah blah.**

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_"If you see a fork in the road, take it."- Yogi Berra._

* * *

**Edward Cullen**

"So, are you going to Chicago for the break?" Jasper asked.

"Yup, Alice is making me go," Edward sighed.

"So that means she's going with you? Any chance you might be working out while you're there?" Jasper had given up trying to be subtle.

"Jasper, do you want to go to Chicago with Alice and me? If you do that's fine by me, and I'm sure Alice wouldn't mind. I know we can easily get you a ticket to all the events around the city." Edward was laughing now. He felt bad for the guy. Ever since he'd met Alice, he was smitten. Alice had been trying to play coy, but it was obvious there was an attraction.

"Thanks, man. You know my cousin lives in Chicago, so I could always introduce you to her," Jasper offered.

"Are you talking about Rose? No thanks, man. From what you've told me, she would scare the hell out of me. Besides, after Lauren and Heidi, I've sworn off women, especially blondes."

"The women of Seattle will only see your single status as a challenge, Mr. 2009 Seattle Bachelor or the Year."

"You suck," Edward said laughing, throwing his workout towel at Jasper. He didn't like to be reminded of his dubbed title. The Mariner's locker room had been hell for two months after the article came out. He liked his teammates and knew their teasing was all in good fun, but what wasn't much fun was when his phone number and personal email were leaked on a gossip site, and he had to change his contact information. Twice.

**Bella Swan**

When Bella was little, she loved sports. Her father, Charlie, was a diehard Mariners and Seahawks fan. It was their Sunday tradition to make popcorn and have a picnic in the family room to watch the game, while her mother, Renee, went shopping with friends. Bella cherished those times.

At the age of five, Charlie enrolled her in T-ball. Renee had protested, claiming she was worried about injuries, but mostly it was about her baby girl getting dirty. Bella didn't care; she loved baseball and just wanted to see the smile on her dad's face. She wasn't the most coordinated child, and was on the smaller side, so she was always overlooked by the coaches, no matter how often they spouted "fair play".

Eventually Bella resigned herself to the fact that she was never going to be an all-star, and instead watched her little (for lack of a better term) cousin, Emmett, grow up to be a natural athlete. Emmett didn't have the finesse required to play baseball, in which the player had to be smooth, graceful, and have stellar hand-eye coordination. Emmett didn't have any of those attributes. Instead, he was a big kid, hard-hitting, and had a knack for knocking things over. He was the quintessential bull in the china shop. Thus his parents decided to let him play football instead.

"I told you that your meeting would go well. Aren't you glad you wore the suit?" Then She raised her voice to sound like Bella. "Yes, Rose, you're so smart. I'm so glad I have you as my best friend. I should always listen to you."

Bella snorted loudly, and several of the other restaurant patrons turned to stare. "Seriously, is _that_ is what you think I sound like?"

"Pretty much." Then she noticed Bella had a decent-sized ball of bread in her hand. "You wouldn't dare throw that at me."

"You know me better than that."

Rose rolled her eyes. "You need to start trusting in yourself more. You didn't get that job by getting on your knees and crawling under the desk like Stanley would have." Rose paused. "Or did you?"

"Keep talking like that and I won't introduce you to Emmett _tonight_."

Rose gasped, "I love you."

"That's better. Keep talking"

"You know, if you're introducing me to your cousin, I could introduce you to mine," Rose offered.

Bella snorted again. "Jasper? From what you told me about him, I don't think we'd be compatible. Besides after the whole Newton thing, I'm swearing off men for a while, especially the pretty-boy athletic types."

"Anyway, if you're going on ESPN in two weeks, we need to get you dressed. Too many people have seen in you what you already have, and we need to punch it up with more suits like what you have on now," Rose was practically vibrating. Bella tuned her out, thinking about how excited she was about seeing her cousin.

Bella hadn't seen Emmett since May, right after he was drafted by the Bears. She wished she could have been there for him, but technically she was. When the camera crew focused on him, he was on the phone. The talking heads at the network all said he was deep in negotiations with agents and teams, but in actuality, he was listening to Bella telling her awful knock-knock jokes, trying to keep him from bolting from the building. Hating attention was something they'd inherited from the Swan family, even if Swan wasn't technically Emmett's last name. Ironically, they had both chosen professions in the public eye.

"Bella...hello? Where'd you go? I swear you zone out more now than you ever did in college."

"Sorry, I was distracted."

"I see that, but as I was saying, we'll go shopping this weekend. I won't take no for an answer," she said, looking smug and folding her arms across her chest.

"Whatever." Thankfully, Bella's phone chirped. Glancing at it, her eyes widened.

"Ooooh, I know that look! What is it?"

Bella tried to be casual, but inside her heart was pounding. "It's nothing. I'll call him back later."

Rose was curious now, "You have to tell me more about this nothing-person. I don't know anything except that you guys met in college."

Bella knew where this discussion was going, but she and Tyler had an agreement not to discuss their relationship. Her PDA chirped again, and this time it was Aro. "Hey, it's the boss-man. I gotta go." She grabbed her purse. "Sorry."

"No worries. You agreed to go shopping with me, the least I can do is pay for lunch. Call me later?"

"You got it. Thanks." She gave Rose a quick kiss on the cheek and took off.

The moment the elevator doors opened, Jane, Aro's assistant, was at her side. "He's really sorry he interrupted your lunch, but something's come up and it's a pressing matter." Bella bit her tongue. Jane was Aro's lapdog, and for her, everything was a _pressing matter_.

"It's fine. What's going on?"

"We just got wind there's a big trade that's going to happen in the next week with the Cubs, but that's all I can say." Jane shrugged and quickly knocked on Aro's door before walking in.

In a sense of déjà vu, Aro had Bella sit across from his desk as he tented his fingers and stared at her. She shifted uncomfortably. "What's going on? Jane said something about a trade?"

Her editor took a deep breath and leaned back in his chair. "Yes, but I want to ask you a question, and be honest with me please."

"I've never lied to you before."

"What exactly is the nature of your relationship with Edward Cullen?"

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Chapters four and five are almost done and will be with betas and prereaders by the end of the week!

Reviews get teasers!

Thank you so much for your time.


	4. Spring Training

*Cringes* I know I said it'd be a few days, but shit happens. On the bright side, I have chapters 5-8 done. Five and six are with the beta and prereaders now. There was a LOT of major reworking done, and dare I say a few blowups. In the end, it was so worth it. I've been sitting on this chapter for a good day because I'm in a hotel with really crappy Wi-Fi. No promise as to when the next chapter will be posted, but I SWEAR TO YOU, it is so awesome. I'm truly excited about the next few chapters.

**Irritable_Grizzzly beta'd. **It was because of her this story has taken on a life of it's own. Thank you for keeping my ass in line and helping me find a way to not only become a better storyteller but a better writer as well. **Stephk0525 and Morethanmyself **preread and assured me it doesn't suck and offered fantastic input. **Mamacat-**any Yogi Berra quote is for her.

There have been some questions about the timeline of how things are being related to each other. Let me explain. Both Edward and Bella are in different realities. Different things are happening on different days but I promise they'll come together in a nice neat timeline by the next chapter. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

Thank you all so much for sticking with me. Please read the AN at the end.

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"When it comes to a fork in the road, you take it." Yogi Berra

Fall 2003

**Edward Cullen**

Edward looked over at the teary-eyed brunette in his passenger seat. He knew that he could easily try and comfort her, but once he touched her, he couldn't be sure at what point he would want to stop, so he sat there as she absently drew pictures in the fog on his car windows, waiting for her to speak.

When he couldn't handle the silence anymore he said, "Do you want to talk about it?" Part of him wished that she would deny him; a crying girl scared the hell out of him. The other half wanted her to let him in. For the past year he'd been trying and failing at getting to know Izzy Dwyer.

"Not really," she sighed. "I should go."

"You wanna join us?" Edward motioned toward the sports bar. "Maybe take your mind off of whatever's got you down?"

"I have stuff to do for class next week. I'm not in the mood to socialize and I doubt I'd be much fun, but thanks for the offer." She gave him a weak smile.

"Okay, well call me if you need anything?" he asked, hoping he didn't come across as pleading or needy.

"You're...you're a good friend, Ed," she said as she leaned over and placed a soft kiss on his cheek. "I'll call you later, okay?"

"Uh, okay." There were many other things he wanted to say, but knew the timing wasn't appropriate. He made the mental note to find a way to ask her about their friendship and the potential for something more. If he even stood a chance at something more.

**Current Day**

"Oh. My. God. When did you get so damn heavy?" It had been a good few minutes of trying to shove his body off the bed before Alice gave up completely.

"Leave me the fuck alone," he mumbled into his pillow.

"No. We have to talk business and I need you awake, Sunshine."

He rolled over and opened one eye to judge his friend. "I don't care. I quit." Alice winced when she caught sight of his bloodshot eyes and the smell of stale whiskey on his breath.

"How much this time?" She repositioned herself and searched for the bottle of Jack Daniels she knew would be under the bed.

"Does it matter?"

"Yes, it fucking matters!" She slapped his pillow. "I did not just bust my ass for the past two days making your upcoming trip to Chicago a permanent stay, for you to go and mess it up. Sometimes I wonder if the only reason you keep me around is because you know nobody else will put up with your bullshit."

"You love me and _that's_ why you stay with me."

"I stick around for the juicy commission and pity—Ah-ha!" She pulled the bottle out and went over to the sink, dumping out the remainder of its contents and pulling the curtains back, exposing fresh sunlight into the room.

"Get up."

"Give me one good reason why."

"Izzy Dwyer."

Edward sat up and narrowed his eyes. "You're lying."

"_That _is what it takes to get your attention? I tell you that you're being traded _like you asked for_ but a girl from college gets you up? We need to talk abo—"

"Explain. Now."

"Shower and make yourself presentable. I'll be in the kitchen with a large pot of coffee." Then she smiled and tossed him a towel, disappearing around the corner before he could argue.

Twenty minutes later and Edward was feeling just a little more human. By the time he was dressed and headed into the kitchen, he'd decided that she'd used Izzy's name as a cheap ploy to wake him up.

"Feeling any better?" Alice asked, her voice holding more sympathy..

"A little." He took the offered coffee mug .

"Ready to talk business?"

"I don't really have a choice, do I?"

"Not really."

"Fine. Let's have it. You mentioned something about Chicago?" He settled onto a barstool.

"We need to go to the front office sometime before the end of today to sign the papers, but in two weeks, you'll be stretching on the field in Cubby blue."

Edward reminded her, "Injured, remember?"

"You know what I mean, smartass." Alice rolled her eyes. "That's all you have to say? I get you traded to your hometown, the one place you've been begging me to go, and this is the appreciation I get?"

"You're right, I'm sorry." He rose to quickly kiss her cheek and sat back down. "You have been amazing. Thank you. How's the salary look?"

"You're the highest-paid infielder in the National League."

"Nice. You should buy some new shoes or something."

"I'd rather buy a car."

A silence fell over the kitchen, Edward thinking about putting his condo on the market and how much value he could retain, and Alice debating how to bring up her client's college obsession.

She decided on the direct approach. "So, let's talk about Izzy."

Edward choked on his coffee. "You were serious about that?"

"I know you don't like to talk about her, but don't forget, she was my friend too."

"It's not like she died, Alice. She moved away and onto someone else. She changed her number, her email and never bothered to call to see how _you_ were doing. Why bother?"

"Because maybe we don't know all the reasons behind her leaving, but wouldn't you like to? I got her contact information and made a few calls. I'm expecting her to call me back sometime today."

Edward kept silent. He had always assumed Alice knew at least _some_ of the details behind Izzy's abrupt departure. It was now clear that she had never filled Alice in.

"It's not this early where she is. "Do you want the short or long version?"

"Fine." Edward sighed. "Start with the short and go from there."

"Izzy works for the Chicago Sun Times and is their new feature columnist. I found her through their website. She's even prettier than in college," Alice rushed out.

"I'm changing your name to Malice."

**Bella Swan**

"Well, it was a long time ago but we were just friends." Bella fought to keep the confusion out of her voice.

"Are you sure about that?" Aro chuckled.

"Yes, Mr. Ei-Aro. We were friends in college. Why is this relevant?"

"Part of the circulating rumor is that Edward Cullen is coming to Chicago."

"Okay…" Bella said, her voice trailing off. "I'm sorry, but I don't really see the relevance."

"It's widely known that he hates the press and rarely grants interviews. Aro paused before breaking the news. "Bella, Cullen's his people have reached out to us. They'd like to create some positive press about his return to Chicago, and they've requested you to do the interview."

"We _were_ friends, Aro. Past tense. We aren't anymore." Bella left out the part where Edward had used her, lied to her, and broken her heart. It also didn't help matters that despite his media elusiveness, Edward's relationship status was constantly displayed over all the tabloids.

"A Miss Alice Brandon begs to differ. She called me an hour ago—"

"She's lying," Bella cut him off. "Aro, I'm sorry. I really am, but I don't think I can do this."

"I'm not asking. When Edward Cullen's camp requests to do an interview, and offers you the exclusive, you take it. You've got a lot of naysayers out there." Aro gestured in the direction of the bullpen. "Do this, do it well, and prove them wrong. Whatever happened in your undergrad days can stay there." Both of them knew what he was doing, and it was working. Challenging his young writer was exactly what was needed.

"You really have that much faith in me? You genuinely trust that I'm not going to fu-screw this up?"

"Absolutely."

"Okay then." Bella stood, not feeling the need to say anything else. She took the piece of paper Aro handed her and scanned it briefly before slipping it into her pocket, squaring her shoulders, and striding out of Aro's office and down the hall to hers.

She waited until the door was closed behind her before she fell back against it, sagging to the floor. Her mind instantly running through how many different reasons she could give Aro about why she couldn't do this assignment. She'd been under his spell when she was in his office, but thinking about actually doing it was giving her hives.

NO! She _could _do this. She would and it would be fantastic. She'd run away from her feelings, her humiliation. She wouldn't let him influence her choices like that again.

Her last contact with Edward Cullen was the better part of a decade ago. She doubted he'd even really remember her, other than as another college co-ed alone in an unfamiliar hotel room, and convinced herself that the request for the interview was purely coincidental. Since he wouldn't remember her, she reasoned, there wouldn't have to be any awkward greetings.

Of course, she still had to call her old friend first, and that might be tricky.

Yes, she decided. She could do whatever task regarding Edward Cullen and not let her feelings get in the way. It was a long time ago, and she'd moved on.

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Please tell me what you think! Reviewers get teasers that won't be on The Fictionator blog next Monday. They might be slow to get out, but it will be done.

Thanks for reading!


	5. The Bullpen

One thing I'd like to address that came up in a lot of the reviews was that there was a misunderstanding. I think I responded to all of them, but if I didn't, I'm sorry. There was no misunderstanding. What happened between B and E will be crystal clear. How they see what happened will be incredibly different when going between the two points of view. The second thing I'd like to bring up is that a few of you are confused about timelines. Because they are on different time zones and varying POV's, things won't be running parallel until the next few chapters. They are each doing their own thing on their own time. However, this chapter things slowly start to coincide.

Mad thanks to **morethanmyself** for prereading and what can I say about my beta that I haven't said before? She took a crazy amount of time helping me flesh out this chapter and lay the groundwork for future chapters. **Irritable_Grizzzly**, the Horshach to my Kotter, the hummus to my pita bread.

Disclaimer: I have a new haircut and am in desperate need of a pedicure. While I believe SM might need both, she created this world.

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_I've come to the conclusion that the two most important things in life are good friends and a good bullpen.-Bob Lemon, 1981._

* * *

Immediately after speaking with Aro Eisenberg, Alice Brandon had been ecstatic; however, Edward's reaction had significantly dampened that enthusiasm.. She'd mistakenly assumed that he would be happy to hear she'd made contact with his former college obsession, since she'd long suspected the reason Edward couldn't keep a steady relationship wasn't because of the gold-diggers or his busy schedule, but rather because any woman would never measure up to Izzy Dwyer, or Bella Swan as she now liked to be called He should have been thrilled, since she'd long suspected his inability to maintain a steady relationship had nothing to do with the gold-diggers or his busy schedule, but rather because no other woman could ever measure up to his college obsession, Izzy Dwyer – or "Bella Swan" as she liked to be referred to now.

Close to three that afternoon her phone rang, and seeing an unfamiliar Chicago area code, automatically assumed it was Safeco Field regarding Edward's trade, but instead it was her former U Dub roommate.

"Izzy! It's so good to hear from you!" Alice's knuckles were white from gripping the phone in excitement.

"_How are you, Alice?" _Bella chuckled.

"Better now that I'm talking to you. It's been so long. I feel like there's so much we need to catch up on! I've been looking forward to your call."

"_I figured it would be best to get things going. I'm sure you're very busy."_

Alice frowned. This wasn't the friend she remembered and loved. This girl seemed distant and _cold._ "I'd always make time for you, Iz-"

"_Bella."_

"Huh?"

"_Sorry. I go by Bella now."_

Alice's nose began to burn and tingle when she heard her friend's clipped tone, a sure sign that tears would be following shortly. "Of course, I'm sorry. Uh … I have a meeting I'm about to go to," she lied. "I'm going to be in your area in a couple of days . Would you like to get together for lunch?"

After a brief pause, Bella answered, _"That sounds good. Just give me a call when you're in town."_

"Absolutely."

"_I'll see you soon."_

"I'm looking forward to it."

"_Me too,"_ Bella said, but Alice could tell she was lying.

Afterward, Alice stared at her Blackberry, wondering what happened to the girl she used to know. For the first time in a very long time, she wondered if putting Edward and Bella together wasn't such a good idea after all.

**Edward Cullen**

Edward's hand hurt. It had been a long time since he'd signed his name that many times, plus there were the two sessions he'd spent in his bathroom trying to rid the images of a naked Izzy Dwyer from his head. His right hand was positively exhausted.

Despite his hangover, which was thankfully fading, he was having a good day. Alice was right; he was finally getting what he wanted. He was moving back to his hometown and would hopefully spend the remainder of his career there, along with reconnecting with the woman he couldn't forget.

He, Jasper, and Alice had plans to meet at The Chop House to celebrate his trade. When he arrived, Jasper was at the bar and smiled at him, then held out his hand. "Hey, man. Congrats."

"Thanks." Edward beamed. For the first time since he'd been drafted, he felt positively hopeful about his future. "Alice here yet?" He scanned the room but didn't see his agent anywhere.

"Yeah, she's in the bathroom. You know, we're here to celebrate but she didn't look too happy."

"Huh. I'm sure whatever it is can't be that bad. She's getting an obnoxious yellow Porsche." Then he turned and ordered a drink.

He was approached by two women asking for autographs. After signing, he politely accepted their phone numbers.

"Which one are you going to call?" Jasper motioned toward the two women who were giggling in the corner.

"Neither." Edward shrugged.

"Bullshit."

"No, really."

"Why?"

"Well, for starters, I'm leaving in a few weeks."

"So?"

"Then there's the fact that the redhead has an Adam's apple."

"Weird. I didn't see that."

"Yeah."

"What does you leaving have to do with anything? I don't think any of you are looking for a long-term relationship. More like a few hours at the most. "

"I can't do one-nighters. It's just not right." Edward suddenly became focused on the TV in the back of the bar. The station was tuned to WGN, a well-known local Chicago station. They had just advertised upcoming footage of Emmett McCarty and a very familiar brunette at O'Hare International Airport.

"From what I've heard, it hasn't stopped you before." Jasper followed his gaze. "Man, are you okay?"

Edward ignored him and continued to stare, gripping his bottle tightly. "Hey, can you turn that up please?" Edward asked the bartender, motioning toward the TV, now showing a commercial.

"I think I made a mistake," Alice said, having returned from the restroom.

"What do you mean?" he asked, turning to her.

"Izzy isn't the same girl. She sounded so different when I talked with her. " Alice sighed and looked down.

. "You talked to her? When?"

"Holy shit! My cousin is on TV."

"What?"

"That's her, the blonde in the green." Edward looked up and sure enough, there was an attractive-looking blonde standing next to Izzy Dwyer, who was smiling widely in the middle of baggage claim.

The news reporter announced that the Chicago Bears were returning from a team-bonding event and they were all very excited over Emmett McCarty joining their ranks; their chances for the SuperBowl now looked promising. Edward tuned all of this out, only paying attention to Izzy, who currently had her arms wrapped around Emmett, as he hugged her back tightly.

After a few moments Jasper said, "What in the hell is Rose doing there?" When he received no answer, he turned around to see Alice and Edward wearing matching frowns, deeply engrossed in a conversation. As he tried to hear what they were saying, the hostess came over; he saw both of his friends wearing matching frowns..

He walked up and tapped Edward on the shoulder to let him know their table was ready, And Alice and Edward followed behind him through the dining room, both of them looking as if someone had kicked their puppy. He didn't want to pry, but he wasn't going to let them bring down his good mood.

**Bella Swan**

"That was crazy." Emmett laughed.

"I never thought there'd be news crews waiting for you," Rosalie agreed.

From the front seat, Bella said, "Yeah, that was kind of weird."

"You'll have to get used to the cameras, Em. You're the new Chi-town celebrity; everyone is going to want a piece of you." Bella looked in the review mirror, waiting for a response. Instead she saw Emmett and Rose, two of her favorite people, giving each other shy smiles and slowly eyeing each other.

"From what I hear, you'll need to get ready for some popularity too," Emmett replied.

"I know, I know."

"So what's this I hear about Edward Cullen being traded?" Emmett not-so-subtly blurted, changing the topic.

"Don't remind me." Bella rolled her eyes and pushed back the memory of her call to Alice.

"Okay, okay." Emmett threw his hands up in mock surrender.

"It shouldn't matter, right? Bella has said plenty of times that she's over him, and she has Tyler, so it shouldn't matter. Besides, Chicago is a big city," Rose contributed. Bella looked in the mirror again and saw her cousin's eyes were full of concern.

"Tonight is not about Edward Cullen or me. It's about Emmy-bear coming home."

"Emmy-bear?"

"Oh yeah."

"Bella, you _really_ shouldn't go there."

"Why not?"

"Emmy-bear, really?"

"Yeah. That was the name his mom gave him when she was cheering from the sidelines."

"Yeah, Belly-bean attended all of my games."

"Nice."

"It was that or Smelly Belly."

"Emmett!"

"You started it."

"I'm going to call you BB from now on. I can't wait to tell Angela."

"You will do no such thing!"

"And Jake."

"Who's Jake?"

"Angela's boyfriend," the girls said together.

"Oookay," Emmett said. "Is this where I'm living?" he asked as Bella pulled into a large parking garage next to an apartment building.

"For now, until the realtor shows you something better."

They unloaded Bella's car and headed to the resident's elevator.

"There's absolutely no chance Phil's coming home early, right? I'd hate to walk in on something embarrassing," Emmett said.

"No." Bella sighed. "Phil's in Arizona, but he might come home for the All-Star break, I'll have to ask."

"Phil's a cool guy. We'd make decent roommates."

"Ugh. Just...no."

"What's wrong with that? Two single guys, hittin' the bars, pickin' up chicks, yeah?"

"I don't know what's more disturbing: the idea of you clubbing with your former step-uncle or your use of the term 'chicks.' "

"Chicks. Definitely chicks," Rose chimed in.

"Whatever." Emmett rolled his eyes.

"Okay, Slater."

"Awesome vague nineties sitcom pop-culture reference, Spano. Up high!" Emmett held up his hand and Rose lightly slapped it.

"Oh Christ on a cracker, can we please just all get inside?" Bella whined, opening the door to the lavish apartment.

"Actually, I have an early morning so I have to bail. Call me tomorrow?" Rose asked.

In the midst of their goodbye hug, Rose whispered for Bella to please give Emmett her number and after she left, Bella and Emmett settled into the large cushy leather couch in the middle of the room.

"How ya doing, kid?" Emmett ruffled her hair.

"Good…" .

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I just think I have a lot on my plate. How are you doing, Mr. First-Rounder?" Bella curled her feet under a blanket, knowing that they would be settling in for a long talk, especially one that involved a certain baseball player.

Emmett expressed his nerves about not living up to his large payday and disappointing the fans. They made small talk, both of them waiting for the other to bring up the inevitable.

"So when do I get to meet the illustrious Tyler Crowley?" Emmett teased.

"Never."

"Aw, why not?"

"Suck in your bottom lip, it's not attractive."

"It'd be disturbing if you found any part of me attractive."

"I completely agree.'

"How about drinks this weekend?"

"Maybe. I'll have to ask him."

"I already checked, and he's not pitching."

"Fine." Bella fired off a quick text to Tyler, who quickly responded that he was looking forward to meeting Emmett.

"How does it feel, knowing that you and Cullen are going to be in the same city?"

"Ugh." Bella threw her head back and closed her eyes. "I don't know. You remember Alice Brandon?" He nodded. "She reps him and requested_ me _to do an exclusive." Emmett gave a low whistle and gave her a sympathetic look. "Tell me about itSometimes I think he'll have absolutely no recollection of who I am and I'll be this random chick crying like a teenager over Justin Bieber."

"You guys were friends before you were together; surely that has to mean something.

"I don't know. Sometimes I feel like he and I never happened."

"Does Tyler know that you were boinking his future teammate?"

"He knows something happened." Bella shrugged. "He might be under the impression that we had a mutual agreement not to see each other anymore."

"Might?" Emmett raised an eyebrow.

"I don't want to talk about this."

"Okay." Emmett got up and grabbed one of his bags, bringing it back with him to the couch.

"Okay? Just like that, you're letting me off the hook?" Bella narrowed her eyes, knowing that he had to have an ulterior motive.

"For tonight, yes. I'm exhausted. Besides, I have something for you." He opened his bag and tossed over a Bears jersey with the number one on the front.

"Thank you. I've always wanted one of these."

She went to put it on, but he stopped her. "That's a collectable." He sat down beside her and carefully held it up for her. Then Bella remembered where she'd seen it before. In her hands was the jersey that Emmett had received when he'd been drafted, right before getting hugged by the NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell. "I signed it here." He pointed to an area on the shoulder.

"Your ego knows no bounds."

"More or less."

"I love it. Thank you." Bella pulled him in for a long and much-needed hug.

"No matter what happens, remember, I'll be there for you." Bella nodded and squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself not to cry. "Before this turns into a chick flick, we need a change of topic. Tell me all about Rosalie."

* * *

So...what'd ya think?

Next chapter, you get to meet Tyler!

Remember, reviews = teasers that weren't on the Fictionators blog!

Thanks for reading!


	6. Designated Hitter

Hey ya'll! Sorry this chapter took so long to get out there! It had to under go a few revisions, but I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. The flashbacks in the next chapter are crucial, so I'm reworking them, _a lot._

My beta is the incredible Irritable_Grizzzly. Thank you so much for all your kind words on the last chapter. I hope you enjoy this one.

* * *

_It ain't football. You can't make up trick plays.-Yogi Berra_

* * *

**Edward Cullen**

It had been a couple of days since he'd found out about the "new and improved" Izzy Dwyer – now Bella Swan – and Edward fought the urge to tell Alice _"I told you so."_

He hadn't been completely surprised she'd given Alice the cold shoulder, since it was no secret they'd argued a lot before Bella up and left, but Alice would never reveal why. Of course, she didn't really need to since he was pretty sure they'd been fighting about him.

Still, he let his fantasies of their reunion dominate his free time. He likened his memories to that of a restaurant, but in reverse. He downplayed the bad and remembered the was a part of him that knew he was delusional, but in much the same way two people consistently break up and get back together, through the years he'd downplayed the bad and only remembered the good, convincing himself Bella would be just as excited to see him as he was to see her.

Alice had flown to Chicago with Esme to go apartment hunting for her and Edward. With the two most organized women in his life gone, he was now left to his own devices to pack up his condo. He desperately wanted to hire a moving company to do it all for him, but first he needed to pack up anything worth stealing.

**Bella Swan**

It had been a few days since Emmett had been in town, and strangely enough, she hadn't spent that much time with him. Rosalie had taken up Bella's role as the unofficial tour guide of Chicago, showing him all the landmarks of the city, such as her apartment.

It seemed that things were slowly returning to their normal pace. She'd been preparing non-stop for her upcoming TV appearances and pulling together sources and interviews about Edward. She'd had a few more conversations with Alice and was convinced that they would be able to repair their friendship, despite what had happened before she'd left, and their rocky phone reunion, and had even set up a time and place to meet while Alice would be in town on a house-hunting mission.

On this day, Bella had spent most of her morning creating her "to-do" list for the upcoming poker night. Even though Emmett had been adamant about meeting Tyler, she still debated bringing him, but didn't understand why. Sure her friends could be tough, but deep down she knew everyone would love him. They always did, because up until now he'd been the Golden boy of Chicago. Of course, that would all change when Edward returned. Bella laughed to herself when she thought of the two men who didn't care about titles competing for the title of Chicago's favorite.

There was a knock on the door. "Ms. Swan, you have a visitor," Mike informed her. Bella had always gotten a kick out of having a male assistant. It was very Murphy Brown. Mike was a good guy and handsome, in a boyish way. Plus, he always had coffee waiting for her. She could count on him for his good-natured joking and she never had to worry about a sexual harassment lawsuit if she flirted with him. Mike was very, very gay.

Bella looked up. "Who is it?"

Mike said nothing, instead smiling and opening the door wider.

"Hey, pretty girl."

She grinned. "Hey, yourself. This is a nice surprise," she said while wrapping her arms around Tyler's neck.

"I haven't seen you in a while, and. I missed you." He gave her a knee-weakening kiss, causing Bella her to forget where she was for a moment.

"I missed you, too. I guess that's expected when you go on long road trips," she said when she pulled back.

Tyler sat on the edge of her desk and pulled her between his legs, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Let me take you out to lunch." Bella giggled and pulled away, glancing at her open office door.

"Absolutely. Where did you have in mind?"

"My place?"

"I don't have time for a quickie." She laughed.

"Not _there_." He rolled his eyes. "I meant my other place. Where is your mind, Swan?"

"So you don't want a quickie?" Since they'd started having sex almost a year ago, his most recent road trip was the longest they'd gone without being intimate. She'd missed him, but not as much as she thought she should have.

"I've been gone for three and a half weeks and only had my hand and your voice to get me through it. The last thing I want is to be quick." Tyler took a deep breath, then gave her a quick kiss and stood, brushing his erection against her stomach.

"Subtle."

"You just don't get the effect you have on me."

"Whatever." Bella rolled her eyes and pushed past him.

"Hey." She stopped and turned. Tyler was frowning.. "I don't know what exactly he did to you, but I'd like to think that after all the time we've spent together, you would know how I feel about you."

"I know. and I love you too. Can we please go eat now?" As if on cue, Bella's stomach

grumbled.

Tyler nodded. "Fine, but this conversation isn't over."

They had just been seated at Crowley's, Tyler's bar, when a familiar couple walked in.

Bella waved Angela and Jake over. As Jake smiled broadly and bounced on his heels, he looked for all the world like a little boy about to meet Santa for the first time. Angela slapped his chest and begged him to play it cool, but she was also excited, albeit for a different reason. Bella seemed happy for the first time in a long time. Tyler had a great sense of humor, was smart, and treated her best friend with nothing but love and respect. It didn't hurt that he was also easy on the eyes.

Angela and Jake had met Tyler a few times, but it was always brief and they'd never spent more than a couple of hours with them since he and Bella had started dating right before the previous baseball season. It had only been in the past few months that they'd begun integrating their lives, which included meeting the parents and having a drawer reserved for them in their respective houses.

"Do you think he'll give us tickets?" Jake whispered in Angela's ear.

"Oh God, you are such an ass!" Angela elbowed him in the side, to which Jake grunted.

"Hey guys." Tyler stood and greeted them while signaling the server over, and then they settled down, falling into an easy conversation that centered around everything but the Cubs. Of course, the pleasant conversation came to an end when Tyler mentioned the Cullen trade. Angela knew how Bella had been putting on a cool front, and Jake was aware of the past history and knew better than to say anything negative about Tyler's future teammate.

Bella put on a brave face and swallowed deeply. "What do you think about it?"

"If he can stay healthy, he'll be good for the team. He was putting up good numbers before he got injured. You went to school with him, right?"

"Yeah. Briefly." Bella kept her eyes on her salad, but could feel three sets of eyes on her.

"Bella, can you please show me where the bathroom is?" Angela stood up and gave her friend a look that said, _'now'. _Bella nodded and followed.

"That was weird," Tyler muttered.

"My girl is nothing if not subtle." Jake laughed uncomfortably.

"I know Bella's been acting a little off lately, especially anytime Cullen's name comes up."

Tyler was fishing and they both knew it. Jake was mentally cringing. He knew he had a big mouth and wasn't sure how long he could hold out.

"You've been her friend for what, at least a few years, right?" Tyler prodded. Jake nodded. "I know if I ask her, she'll tell me it's no big deal, but it clearly is."

"I get what you're saying, but I dunno; Bella's one of my best friends and I _really_ hate to be cliché and say it's not my story to tell, but..."Jake let his voice trail off and shrugged.

"How about I tell you what I know?"

"Okay." Jake folded his arms and squirmed uncomfortably.

"I know she went to U-Dub and was roommates with Cullen's manager, Alison-."

"Alice," Jake corrected.

Tyler nodded and continued. "I also know that there was some guy who all but broke her and shook her confidence enough that she moved halfway across the country to start over." Jake nodded again. "And now this trade is happening and that's when Bella started acting weird."

Jake saw Bella and Angela approaching the table and quickly changed the subject. "I think you're onto something, man. The DH is a legal form of copping out."

"Really, you're having this conversation with him?" Angela sighed and sat down. "The guy plays baseball for a living. I doubt he wants to talk about the DH and what it means to the line-up."

"No, it's fine. I don't mind talking about baseball." Tyler chuckled at the dynamic between Angela and Jake. He and Bella used to be lighthearted like that, but as he said, not lately. He kept a cool front, but he understood Jake's coded message _"You're onto something" _astelling him he was on the right track.

**Edward Cullen**

"_So I've narrowed it down to several places, it just depends on if you want to rent or buy, and how flexible your budget is," _Alice crackled through her bluetooth.

"How many is '_several_?' "

"_Twelve."_

"Jesus, Al. Twelve?" Edward was surprised at her restraint. He'd fully expected her to have at least twenty different homes for him to look atFor Alice, this was restraint, but he wanted to give her a hard time anyway.. "Anything else going on?"

"_Yes. I'll be faxing you some paperwork in a few hours. I talked to Bella and we've agreed to meet in a few days. We'll set up a schedule that allows her to do her interviews and won't get in the way of your rehab and training with the team."_

His stomach dropped to his knees. "Do I really have to do this?" Now that it was becoming reality, the delusion was going away and the bad memories were coming back.

"_I'm sorry. This is all my fault, but it's too late to back out now."_

He could tell Alice was truly apologetic. She had known Edward would be a mess of emotions when she'd contacted Bella, she probably thought she was doing something nice for him. She didn't know all the details about what had happened, and all the old wounds she'd be opening, or how deep they went opening old wounds when it came to his college infatuation, but she didn't realize how deep they would be.

_Christmas Break 2003_

_They slow-danced amongst the other drunken couples grinding against each other in the bar, the cheesy Christmas lights creating a soft glow overhead. If it weren't for the fact they were in a sports bar, it'd be somewhat romantic. Edward's heart pounded as he rehearsed the words over and over in his head. Of course, before he'd drunk too much and avoided food on the chance he'd throw up, it had sounded great. He wanted this; God how he wanted _her.

"_Bella," he whispered._

"_Hmm?" Her head rested right below his chin. Little did Edward know, her heart was beating just as quickly, her palms sweating from the closeness of their bodies. She was attempting to be subtle in wiping them off on his shoulders._

_Edward took the movement as caresses, and decided to move forward. "Can we please get out of here?" His voice came out deeper than he'd intended. _

_Bella looked up. "Is something wrong?"_

"_No-Yes...no. No, but I'd like to talk to you in a more private place." He raised his eyebrows, hoping she'd catch his meaning. Thankfully, she did._

"_Alice is gone, so we can go to my apartment." _

_Edward nodded and went to gather their coats. He knew Alice was gone. He'd asked her to vanish for the night – well, more like _bribed _her with the promise of paying for a full spa day._

_A quick drive later, they were both sitting on Bella's couch in silence. "You wanted to talk, so what's going on?" She kept her arms crossed over her chest, as if they would offer her protection from whatever he was about to tell her._

"_I thought this would be so much easier after a few drinks, but now I just feel sick." Edward ran his hand through his hair and muttered himself a pep talk. _

"_Maybe if you just say what's on your mind, you'll feel better?"_

"_I think I'm going to be sick." Edward vaulted over the back of the couch and into the bathroom. Bella cringed when she heard his muffled retching. She grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and patiently waited for him to emerge. _

_When he did, she handed him the water and said, "Maybe we should crash and talk in the morning." She gave him a sympathetic look and went to grab fresh blankets from the hall closet._

"_Lauren and I broke up," he blurted from behind her._

"_I'm sorry to hear that," Bella lied. Lauren had always been a bit of a phony bitch to her when Edward wasn't around because she was threatened that Bella would pounce on Edward the first chance she got. "Are you okay?" She gave him a comforting hug, allowing herself to enjoy their close proximity._

"_Yeah. It's been a while since I've been dumped." He chuckled. "I don't know if my ego could take another blow of rejection." _

_Bella was confused by his vague implications. "You've never been dumped before?"_

"_Not since Karen Stephens in the second grade."_

"_I'm sure you'll rebound soon enough," she reassured him. It gutted her to talk about anyone else being with him, since she had been in love with him for the better part of a year. It was her own fault for never saying anything. Plus, seeing him with a revolving door of women didn't exactly bolster her confidence when she felt she didn't even compare._

_Edward swallowed his disappointment, along with his courage, and nodded. He took the blankets and made his bed on the couch. _

_Then he thought about it and realized he should man up. He couldn't _tell_ her but perhaps he could _show_ her. "Bella?" _

"_Yeah?" she called from her bedroom._

"_Can I come in for a second?"_

"_Sure." _

_He walked in and willed his instant erection away at the sight of her in a pair of flannel pants and camisole, sans bra._

"_Everything okay?" She met his eyes through the mirror._

_He walked closer, appraising her reaction. "No."_

_She frowned. "What's wro-" Before she could finish, he was kissing her. _

_Her lips were warm and soft, and he instantly knew he'd made the right decision. Everything about the moment was perfect, down to the little moan she made. He pressed his body pressed against and she immediately responded by sliding her arms around his neck. Eventually he pulled back to breathe, and rested his forehead on her shoulder. _

"_What was that?" Bella chuckled._

"_I've wanted to do that for so long." He placed light kisses along her shoulder blade and up her neck._

"_Yeah, me too."_

_From her reaction, he'd suspected as much, but it was nice to hear her say it._

_As her head fell back, she languished in the warmth of their bodies pressed together, and then stifled a yawn while glancing at the clock. "It's late," she said sleepily._

"_I know." He hoped for an invitation to stay the night. It wouldn't be the first time they would sleep in the same bed, but this time would be different. Not that he wanted sex; not yet anyway. He needed to do this right._

"_Stay with me?" Her voice was barely above a whisper. He couldn't think of anything to say without sounding completely inept, so he simply nodded and helped her turn down the sheets. _

_Then they fell into a deep sleep with a smile on each of their faces._

* * *

So now you know a bit of how things went/are going. Tyler's a nice guy isn't he? Well I like him.

As always, reviewers get teasers that won't be on the blogs!

I also started a new story, _Soul to Keep. _It's a bit of a different direction than this story, but I hope you'll check it out anyway.

Cheers!

Anne


	7. Batters Box

This chapter was beta'd by the beatuiful **Kas90 **and **JennDur. **Thank you ladies, for your sweet and kind words.**TKegl **helped with the imagery and I've beaten myself up over this chapter. A lot of things happen and it was crucial for me to get it right.

* * *

_It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone._ ~A. Bartlett Giamatti, "The Green Fields of the Mind," _Yale Alumni Magazine_, November 1977

* * *

**Izzy Dwyer**

December 31, 2003

5:57pm

"I really think you're going to like him." Izzy fiddled with the coaster under her drink.

"Is it that important to you? For me to like him?" Emmett asked.

"Yeah, we haven't been together that long, but we've known each other for a while. I think," Izzy paused, "I think he could be it for me, you know?" She squirmed at Emmett's raised eyebrows. "What?"

"I just hate the idea that he's fresh out of a relationship and he's jumping into another one with you. Something just doesn't sound right." Emmett held up his hand to stop her from interrupting. "Don't give me that look, I'm not trying to tell you that this is a bad thing. Let me tell you something about guys-"

"This oughta be good."

"Shush. Men are like monkeys. They don't let go of one vine until there's another one to hold onto."

"That's horrible," Izzy laughed, throwing her straw wrapper at him.

"That doesn't mean I'm wrong. Look, if it means that much to you, I'll give Eric-"

"Edward."

"Right, I'll give Edmund a chance." Izzy rolled her eyes but smiled. "You've been through a lot." Emmett grabbed her hand across the table. "I just wanna see you happy, and if Ewok makes you happy, then that's almost enough for me."

"Thank you."

"So where is this guy? He was supposed to be here over thirty minutes ago."

"No clue." Izzy tried his cell phone, but it went straight to voicemail. She knew he was supposed to be with his mother, but that meeting should have ended hours ago. She had a very bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

**Edward Cullen**

December 31, 2003

1:37pm

"So what's this I hear about you and Lauren splitting? She's such a lovely girl, Edward, you could be very happy with her."

"She broke up with me. Besides, it shouldn't it matter."

"Oh?" Esme raised a carefully sculpted eyebrow. "How so?"

"I've met someone. Well, not met, exactly- we've known each other for a while, but things have now started to develop. I really like her, mother. She's someone really special." Seeing the look on his mother's face, Edward instantly felt his need to defend Izzy rise.

"She couldn't be that important if you didn't bring her for Christmas brunch. What's her name?" Edward knew this to be some sort of trap. If Esme didn't recognize her surname, then he would catch nothing but hell from her. However, if she did, there was an almost one-hundred percent chance her family wouldn't be as well-known as the Mallory's. Either way, Edward was screwed.

"Izzy Dwyer."

"Why does the last name sound familiar?"

"Her step-dad is Phil Dwyer."

"She's not his child? What a shame."

"It's not like she had a choice, mother." Edward instantly saw where this was going. Izzy's mom would be seen as the type to be a gold-digger; and in turn, so would Izzy. Everyone knew the Dwyer family for owning half of the Seahawks as well as Phil Dwyer being the General Manager of the front office.

"I do believe the Mallory's are quite upset about this split. I had lunch with Elaine yesterday and she was devastated that we wouldn't have any little Cullen-Mallory babies to spoil."

"I'm sure Lauren will find a some rich sack of shit soon enough," Edward said dryly.

"Edward, language!"

"Whatever," he muttered. "I'm sure she'll find a nice husband who will answer her every beck and call."

"I don't know about that, dear. I had breakfast with Lauren this morning, she's quite torn up. You should see how she's doing."

"Why would I do that?" He snorted at the idea.

"Because, Edward." Esme's voice took on a serious tone. "You would do well to remember what family name you have and the responsibilities it carries. The Dwyer's are new money, and a flash in the pan. The Mallory's are old money and their name carries more weight than some man who got lucky with a few stock tips. They're a good family. Lauren is a good match for you. You'd do well to remember that."

"But I don't love her. I never did."

"Love isn't necessary to have a successful relationship, Edward. Lauren is a lovely girl and I'm sure your affections can grow into caring for each other."

"She dumped me. She told me she didn't trust me and that playing baseball was a lousy way to make a living. According to her, I was useless playing college ball because I would never aspire to anything more than a batboy. She wants someone who can earn a large paycheck today-"

"I'm fully aware of everything said and she's very sorry. She hopes that you'll talk to her and be willing to reconcile."

"What if I don't want to?" He challenged, feeling bold for the first time in a long time.

"You don't have a choice. She's on her way and should be here at any moment."

"But-"

"Fix this, Edward." Esme pressed her manicured nails into his knee. "I will not be made a fool of because you can't keep it in your pants for a girl who was raised by a tramp. I love you, son. I just want to see you do what's best for your future." With her final words, Esme rose, smoothed out her pencil skirt and cardigan set. She adjusted her pearls slightly and gave Edward a cursory nod and left.

"Hey, Edward." He looked up and saw a very morose and repentant Lauren Mallory standing in the doorway.

Sighing and feeling any chance at happiness fade away, he invited her to sit down.

Present Day

Rosalie Hale considered herself a strong woman. When she met Bella Swan several years ago, the two had formed a bond over broken hearts. Rosalie suffered because of a wedding called off by a fiancé whom had discovered a preference in men, preferably more than one at the same time. Bella was broken because she had the love, but in the end, she wasn't enough for him or his family. Rosalie's predicament didn't seem as serious as Bella's, and upon learning the reason behind Bella's tears, Rose took on a protective, motherly role, secretly vowing to let Bella never be hurt again.

When Bella would begin dating someone new, unbeknownst to Bella, Rose would run full background checks on the poor guy. She was a lawyer after all, she reasoned, and she had wanted to help people. Bella was her best friend and it was the least she could do. Angela also became involved in Rose's efforts and helped with the background checks.

So when Tyler Crowley began pursuing Bella, to say Rosalie and Angela were wary that he was an athlete-a baseball player no less-that had hurt Bella the first time; Rose was hesitant to trust him. At the beginning Rose, Angela and Bella were waiting for the other shoe to drop, but it never did.

Over the course of time, Tyler proved that his affections for Bella were genuine, and she had started to care for him too. He made Bella happy, therefore Rose was happy.

The news of Edward Cullen's trade back to Chicago sent Rose in rant of many directions. Rose and Angela had a few conversations over coffee about how to handle the inevitable breakdown that was coming. The only conclusion they could decide on was to make sure that when it did happen, they would be able to drop everything and rush to her side.

Angela confided in Rose that she was hired to be Edward's real estate agent. She felt bad, guilty, as if she were fraternizing with the enemy. Angela was torn; on the one hand, she needed the money, but she felt disloyal to her good friend. Jake had already tried telling his girlfriend that she was being ridiculous, but it fell on deaf ears.

After the impromptu lunch with Bella and Tyler, Angela was silent in the car on the way back to her office to meet with Alice. "You wanna tell me what that was all about?" Jake cautiously asked.

"I just feel bad about the whole client thing," she sighed. "I'll get over it though."

"Did you tell her?"

"Yeah," Angela paused, knowing what was coming. "She said it wasn't a big deal, and I shouldn't be surprised that Alice Brandon came to me because I'm the best in the business."

Jake glanced at his girlfriend out of the corner of his eye and held his tongue. Angela, noticing his obvious distress and keeping his mouth shut, gave him permission.

"Go ahead and say it."

"I told you so! I knew she wouldn't care; Rose said she wouldn't care, so it's not just me. So yeah, I was right and you were wrong."

"I know."

"Say it."

"No, and wipe that smile off your face."

"Not a fucking chance. Actually, here." Jake dug out his phone and briefly fumbled with it before sticking in Angela's face. "Now, say 'Jake was right, and I was wrong.'"

"Not a fucking chance. Why do I keep you around?"

"Because you love me and my talented fingers."

"Very true."

"Do you feel better now that you told her?" Jake softened his voice, letting her know that he was being serious.

"Yeah, I do." She smiled and gave him a kiss at a red light. "Thanks."

**Edward Cullen**

He took a last look around his condo and nodded to himself in satisfaction. It was clean, ready for the next owner. He wouldn't miss this place at all. There were too many memories of Lauren, and that in itself was a constant reminder of what he had given up. Despite the fact Lauren had left years ago, he could still envision her in his bathroom, getting ready for an event, or even worse, the man he caught her fucking in his bed and they weren't even living together.

He and Lauren both knew that being together was a mistake, and as a result, they were both miserable. It didn't surprised Edward that Lauren had been cheating, but that didn't mean it didn't sting any less. Much to the dismay of both their families, Edward and Lauren split two years to the day after the lunch Esme had arranged.

Immediately after the split, Edward began searching for Izzy Dwyer. Sadly his search turned up the bare minimum. The few things he could find were about Phil Dwyer and his bitter divorce to Renee Swan, that Phil was now working for the Chicago Blackhawks, and Izzy Dwyer's Facebook and Myspace page had been cancelled. The last bit hadn't been a surprise since her phone number and email account had been canceled as well. In a sense, she had dropped off the planet and had zero desire to be found.

He'd debated the idea of hiring a detective to try and track her down, but he was quickly bogged down with the sudden movement of him being brought from the Mariners triple-A team to the majors. Between the hype of what he could do on the field and getting to know his teammates, he became sidetracked.

Edward left his condo, a small carry-on in hand, and never looked back. He smiled as he climbed into the cab and told the driver where to go. As he strolled through the airport, he had a spring in his step. He happily ignored the stares from women and some glares from a group of men wearing Mariner's hats.

He had one thing on his mind now; he was going to Chicago, to hopefully play out the rest of his career and win back his girl. His sails deflated a little when he received a call from Alice.

"I'm waiting to board, I can't talk long."

"_That's okay, this won't take long. I just need to give you a quick heads up."_

"What's up?"

"_I'm on my way to go see an apartment with Angela, the realtor. Uhm, Edward, I don't really know how to say this."_ Edward was surprised at Alice's tone. Normally she was always so composed and matter of fact; it was making him very nervous.

"_Angela knows Bella Swan,"_ she rushed out.

"That's a coincidence, but I don't see the big deal. Bella's a journalist, surely she knows a lot of people," he offered.

"_They're friends from college, but that's not the point. She had lots of pictures in her office."_

"I'm about to get on a plane, what's your point? Bella has friends, big deal." Edward was glad Alice couldn't see him roll his eyes.

"_The pictures were with her friends, and her boyfriend." _Alice grew quiet and let Edward process the information.

"Yeah, Emmett. I know," he grumbled.

"_It's not Emmett. That's a completely different story."_

Edward inwardly cursed himself for not having enough time to have a more in depth conversation with Alice. He frowned at the flirty smile from the ticket agent as he boarded the plane.

"_It's Tyler Crowley,"_ Alice said, then felt the need to clarify, _"he's on the starting rotation."_

"I know who he is!" he snapped.

"_Don't get pissy with me, Edward Cullen! I thought I'd give you a heads up, but if you're going to be a jerk-off about it, I won't tell you the last part."_

"Alice, wait, don't hang up." He cradled the phone on his shoulder while he stowed his carry-on. "I'm sorry. Tell me what's going on."

"_Angela told me that he's planning on proposing to her during the All-Star break."_

"That's in two fucking months!" Then a thought occurred to Edward. "She just telling you all this? As if it's just normal conversation?"

"_I know, I thought it was weird too. I think she just wanted to send a message. I get the impression her friends are very loyal. I'm sorry, I gotta go, Ed. Have a safe flight, I'll see you in a few hours."_

Edward settled into his seat and ignored the fight attendant swaying her ass in his direction. He spent the entire time lamenting about how badly he'd fucked things up.

* * *

Well there ya go! Now you know a bit more about what happened.

Love it? Hate it? Let me know!

Cheers,

Anne


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